Cross-rolling machine having workpiece blank support

ABSTRACT

A cross-rolling machine comprises a pair of spaced apart rollers having outwardly extending wedge-shaped blades or dies on the periphery which engage a workpiece positioned between the rollers to form the workpiece. The rollers carry cutters at the ends of the dies which engage the workpiece to separate from the workpiece blank and the workpiece falls into a receiving notch defined in the periphery of the rolls at the ends of the dies. Each roller is provided with an arcuate insert or additional support piece which extends over the complete notch area at the workpiece feeding end and it provides a support for the workpiece blank after the workpiece has been severed therefrom.

0 United States Patent 1191 1111 3,731,510 Tsukamoto et al. [4511 May 8,1973 [54] CROSS-ROLLING MACHINE HAVING 3,6l1,769 11/1971 Hencl ..,....7271 WORKPIECE BLANK SUPPORT [75] Inventors: Hidehiko Tsukamoto; NobutakaEmmmerLwen Larson Maeda, both of Hiroshima, Japan Attorney-John McGlewet [73] Assignee: Mitsubishi Jukogyo Kabushiki 57 ABSTRACT Kaisha,Tokyo, Japan A cross-rolling machine comprises a pair of spaced [22]led: June 1971 apart rollers having outwardly extending wedge- [2]]Appl. 5 7 shaped blades or dies on the periphery which engage aworkpiece positioned between the rollers to form the workpiece. Therollers carry cutters at the ends of the [30] Foreign Applicamm PnorityData dies which engage the workpiece to separate from the June 25, 1970Japan ..45 54779 rkpi ce blank and the workpiece falls into a receivingnotch defined in the periphery of the rolls at the [52] US. Cl ..72/7l,72/108 ends of the dies. Each roller is provided with an arcu- [51] Int.Cl. ..B21h 9/00 ate insert or additional support piece which extends[58] Field of Search ..72/7l, 102, 107, over the complete notch area atthe workpiece feeding 72/108, 204, 250, 252 end and it provides asupport for the workpiece blank after the workpiece has been severedtherefrom. [56] References Cited 5 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures UNITEDSTATES PATENTS 2,342,917 2/1944 Brown ..72/7l PATENTEBHA'Y 8W5 3.731.510

' SHEET 1 0F 3 F|G.l FIG. 2 PRIOR ART PRIOR ART 1' v FIG 4 I PRIOR ARTlo.|b

INVENTOR. HIDEHIKO 'E KHHOT NOBU HKA NEED may PATENTED 81975 3,731,510

SHEET 2 OF 3 FIG. 5 PRIOR ART FIG 6 PRIOR ART INVENTOR. Hmeumo TwrmamFKTTORNEY PATH-HEB 81913 3.731.510

sum 3 OF 3 CROSS-ROLLING MACHINE HAVING WORKPIECEBLANK SUPPORTBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION tions for forming a workpiece positionedtherebetween and with cut off means, and a receiving slot for thefinished workpiece and with an arcuate support piece .posed rollershaving outwardly extending die formaextending in the receiving slot areaand providing a support for the workpiece billet which remains after theworkpiece has been cut away therefrom.

2. Description of the Prior Art Prior to the present invention, it wasknown to form a workpiece between two opposed crossed rolling rollswhich have outwardly extending wedge-shaped dies which act on theworkpiece to form it into a desired shape. With the known construction,means are provided on each side of the workpiece to ensure that itdoesnt feed out laterally from between the rolls during the formationand when the workpiece has been formed, it is severed from the remainingpart of the blank and dropped into a receiving notch defined on aportion of the periphery of the lower roll and then delivered into areceiving station or receiving chute. With the known construction, it isnecessary to provide a lateral support for the remaining workpiecebillet which has been cut away from the workpiece which has been formedin order that it does not fallaway from its operating position betweenthe two operating rolls. This is particularly true when the remainingbillet is reduced to a size in which the lateral support therefor isonly partially effective because it cannot grip along a sufficientlength ofa remaining workpiece billet.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, thereis provided a cross-rolling machine which includes opposed rollersbetween which the workpiece billet is fed, each of which includes anoperating die to form the workpiece. With the inventive construction,the receiving notch for the finished workpiece is bounded on theworkpiece feeding side by an arcuate support for workpiece which extendsover the complete arcuate area of the receiving notch adjacent the endof the operating cutters of the dies and in a position to engage withthe remaining workpiece blank after the formed workpiece has beensevered therefrom. The construction provides an adequate support for theblank so that it may be fed even when theblank length is reduced to avery small amount at which it may be only engaged by one lateral supportrather than two. i.

Accordingly, there is an object of the invention to provide an improvedcross-rolling machine having means for supporting the workpiece billetafter the workpiece has been cut away therefrom.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cross-rolling machinewhich is simple in design, rugged in construction and economical tomanufacture.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention arepointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming apart of this disclosure. For a better understanding of the invention,its" operating advantages and specific objects attained by its uses,reference should be had to the accompanying drawing and descriptivematter in which there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of theinvention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a schematic end elevational view of a crossrolling machine ofthe prior art;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of another prior art device;

FIG. 3 is a partial side elevational and partial sectional view of aconventional prior art lower roller of a cross-rolling machine;

FIG. 3a is an end elevational view of the roller shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 4 is a partial elevational partial sectional view of e a prior artcross-rolling machine in which only a single article is formed from asingle workpiece blank;

FIG. Sis a view similar to FIG. 4 in which a plurality of articles areformed from a single blank of a prior art construction;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 in which aworkpiece has been resetfor engagement prior to the forma tion of another workpiece of the priorart construction;

FIG. 7 is a front side perspective view of a lower roller of across-rolling machine constructed in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 7a is an elevational view of the roller shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 8 is a front elevational view partly in section showing positioningof the workpiece after it has been severed in the workpiece blank;

FIG. 8a is an end elevational view of the part as shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 9 is a partial side elevational view of a roller having a supportwith a workpiece constructed in accordance with the invention; and

FIG. 9a is a partial end elevational view of the roller shown in FIG. 9.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART SHOWN IN FIGS. ITO 6 As shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional crossrolling machine comprises an upperand lower roll 1 and 1' which are arranged for rotation about horizontalaxes which are arranged in a single vertical plane. The peripheries ofthe rolls are in spaced opposition to receive a billet or workpiece Wtherebetween. Each roll 1 and 1' includes a wedge-shaped outer portionin the form of a blade or die la which are correspondingly arranged inrespective positions of the associated rolls I and 1'. During therotation of the rolls 1 and I, in the direction of the arrows indicated,a red hot workpiece or blank W is squeezed and formed into the desiredshape by means of the dies Ia. When the rolls rotate to move theworkpiece beyond the ends of the dies la, the workpiece is engaged bycutter surfaces lb, which sever the article We which is formed from theremaining portion of the billet. The finished article or product Wa,which is obtained each time the rolls make one rotation, falls into areceiving recess or notch 3, which is formed as an indentation into thecylinders l and 1'. During the forming operation, the workpiece W isprevented from moving out laterally by positioning elements or stops 2arranged on each side thereof. After the article passes beyond thecutters 1b, it moves into the notch 3 and the further rotation of theroller is effective to bring it over a receiving tray or chute 4 intowhich it is dumped.

In the prior art construction, as shown particularly from FIGS. 3 and3a, the receiving notch 3 extends along the width of the lower roll 1 Asshown in FIG. 4, the prior art construction is effective insofar as thereceiving notch 3 is concerned, only when a single piece material isused as a blank and a single product is formed therefrom. A produce Waformed by the dies la and of each roll 1 and 1' will feed into the notch3 when the rolls 1 and l rotate.

When a long billet W is used, as shown in FIG. 5, the article Wa dropsinto the receiving notch 3 and then into the chute 4, but the remainingportion of the blank which is supported by the laterally spaced supportmembers 5 and 5 is not adequately held since it is engaged by only oneof the supports 5 when the length is reduced so that end falls out ofalignment for feeding between the rollers l and l, as shown in FIG. 5.If the cutters lb are worn, both the product Wa and the blank W may bedropped into the notch 3 and be kept therein, thus causing damage to themachine.

A further disadvantage is that if the workpiece W is to be accuratelyfed between the rollers l and 1', it must be reengaged as shown in FIG.6 which requires a stopping of the machine and a manual repositioning ofthe workpiece blank W.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 7 to9 in particular, the invention embodied therein, comprises a cross-rollforming machine which includes an upper cross-roll 1 similar to theprior art, and a lower cross roll 1", which has a receiving notch 3"defined within the periphery of the roll surface and having an arcuatebottom wall 30. The end of the receiving groove or notch 3" is closed bya support member 10, which in the embodiment shown in FIG. 7, comprisesan arcuate piece completely filling the notch 3" adjacent the workpieceend thereof.

As shown in FIG. 8, when a workpiece blank W has been cut away from anarticle Wa which is formed by the cutter parts lb of the dies 1a, theremaining blank W is still supported by the arcuate surface 10 so thatit will not become misaligned or fall off even when it is reduced to asmall amount as in the prior art constructions. The blank holder 10 maybe formed as a continuation of the surface of the lower roll 1 as shownin FIGS. 7 and 8 or the holder may comprise a separate support member l0which fills the workpiece end of the notch 3" for a lower roll 1" asshown in FIGS. 9

and 9a. In this case, the support 10' is held in place by bolts 11 whichextend into the roll 1".

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed in detail to illustrate the application of the principles ofthe invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodiedotherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:

1. A cross-rolling machine for forming articles from a workpiece blankwhich is adapted to be fed to the machine from one side thereof,comprising first and second spaced apart vertically aligned formingrolls each having circumferentially extending cooperative dies andcutting means for forming at least a portion of a workpiece billetpositioned therebetween into an article, means rotatively supportingsaid rolls one above the other for rotation about substantiallyhorizontal axes, means for feeding a workpiece billet between said firstand second rolls to present at least a portion thereof for operationthereon by said roll dies and said cutting means, the lower one of saidrolls having a finished article receiving notch defined in the surfacethereof and extending around a portion of the periphery alongside thecircumferential end of said cutting means in a position to receive thearticle as it is cut away from the workpiece blank, and a supportsurface on said lower one of said rolls in addition to and laterally ofsaid dies and cutting means and defining a circumferentially extendingsurface alongside said dies and said cutting means and the articlereceiving notch and upon which the workpiece blank is supported afterthe article is cut away from the blank.

2. A cross-rolling machine for forming articles from a workpiece blank,according to claim 1, wherein said support comprises a surface extendingaround the periphery of said lower one of said rolls adjacent the endthereof to which the workpiece blank is fed and providing a support forthis end of the workpiece blank.

3. A cross-rolling machine for forming articles from a workpiece blank,according to claim 1, wherein said support comprises a marginal strip ofsaid lower one of said rolls closing the end of the notch at the endadjacent the feed of said workpiece blank and providing a support forthe end of the workpiece blank.

4. A cross-rolling machine for forming articles from a workpiece blank,according to claim 1, wherein said support comprises a separate supportmember positioned to close the workpiece receiving notch at the endthereof at which the workpiece is fed to said first and second rolls.

5. A cross-rolling machine for forming articles from a workpiece blank,according to claim 4, including bolt means holding said member to saidlower one of said rolls.

1. A cross-rolling machine for forming articles from a workpiece blankwhich is adapted to be fed to the machine from one side thereof,comprising first and second spaced apart vertically aligned formingrolls each having circumferentially extending cooperative dies andcutting means for forming at least a portion of a workpiece billetpositioned therebetween into an article, means rotatively supportingsaid rolls one above the other for rotation about substantiallyhorizontal axes, means for feeding a workpiece billet between said firstand second rolls to present at least a portion thereof for operationthereon by said roll dies and said cutting means, the lower one of saidrolls having a finished article receiving notch defined in the surfacethereof and extending around a portion of the periphery alongside thecircumferential end of said cutting means in a position to receive thearticle as it is cut away from the workpiece blank, and a supportsurface on said lower one of said rolls in addition to and laterally ofsaid dies and cutting means and defining a circumferentially extendingsurface alongside said dies and said cutting means and the articlereceiving notch and upon which the workpiece blank is supported afterthe aRticle is cut away from the blank.
 2. A cross-rolling machine forforming articles from a workpiece blank, according to claim 1, whereinsaid support comprises a surface extending around the periphery of saidlower one of said rolls adjacent the end thereof to which the workpieceblank is fed and providing a support for this end of the workpieceblank.
 3. A cross-rolling machine for forming articles from a workpieceblank, according to claim 1, wherein said support comprises a marginalstrip of said lower one of said rolls closing the end of the notch atthe end adjacent the feed of said workpiece blank and providing asupport for the end of the workpiece blank.
 4. A cross-rolling machinefor forming articles from a workpiece blank, according to claim 1,wherein said support comprises a separate support member positioned toclose the workpiece receiving notch at the end thereof at which theworkpiece is fed to said first and second rolls.
 5. A cross-rollingmachine for forming articles from a workpiece blank, according to claim4, including bolt means holding said member to said lower one of saidrolls.